A Little Trip to the Great Mall of the Bay Area

Have any of you ever heard of Milpitas? I definitely had not. Well, it is the location of the rather pompously named Great Mall of the Bay Area, to which I ubered (not exactly a steal in rush hour and with surge pricing, but never mind) on my last evening in California the week before last.

It is not the most exciting of outlet malls I have been to and food options are of the artery-clogging variety, but hey, I got my shopping fix. My personal highlights were the Coach store, where I bought a little bag that you can wear with a shorter metal strap or cross-body with a longer one, as well as a matching little card/coin wallet and the Uniqlo store. In the latter I found a navy down jacket with diagonal zipper for a mere USD 29 (plus tax) a cute long-sleeved striped t-shirt (not pictured) of which I bought a smaller size for the Empress from the Ines de la Fressange collection and a long shirt with the red pattern stemming of a coop with the renowned Italian stationery atelier Rossi for a mere USD 6. I also totally needed a third pair of Oakley sunglasses, right? Right? For the first time, I purchased a pair from the women's collection and therefore also got a complimentary sturdy case.

All in all, my recent visit reconfirmed what I knew already: I really could not live in the Silicon Valley, not even if I was a millionaire and did not have to pay a fortune for a small apartment in one of those depressing areas where Walmart and In-N-Out-Burger are the local shopping highlights and you need a car to get EVERYwhere. I am extremely grateful to live in a European city with efficient public transport.